The volume handled at India’s major public ports grew a meager 2 percent in the first fiscal half amid sluggish global trade demand and growing service bottlenecks at some of the country’s main container gateways, particularly Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.

Indian Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government plans to spend roughly Rs. 70,000 crore (approximately $10.7 billion) on upgrades for major public ports under the “Sagar Mala” project over the next five years.

The Indian government approved allocating Rs. 468 crore (approximately $72 million) to set up basic infrastructure for the long-awaited special economic zone at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, allowing the country's largest container handler to begin construction on a project that is designed to help drive up its cargo volumes.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, India’s biggest container handler, is increasing intermodal train deployments and rolling out more proactive measures in an effort to alleviate the backlog of containerized freight built up during the past few weeks.

The Indian federal government is retreating from a controversial “corporatization” plan to transform ‘major’, or public, port trusts into independent companies following stiff opposition from labor unions and some political groups, dealing a big blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reform efforts to stimulate trade and economic growth.

Major road crossings along the India-Nepal border were closed Wednesday and while the border remains open for people crossing on foot or by bicycle, vehicles have been prevented from crossing by protesters on the Nepalese side and by India's Armed Border Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal or SSB, citing unrest as a security concern.

India’s director general of shipping Deepak Shetty said that while the country is working to streamline its bureaucracy to facilitate maritime trade, the total removal of cabotage protections was out of the question.

India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, which has been hit hard by a series of labor and other disruptions in the past few months, is turning things around with more intermodal services and the introduction of other proactive steps.